


Dragon Heart

by roguefaerie (samidha)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Dragons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Familes of Choice, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Safe Haven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-05 05:37:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18359684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samidha/pseuds/roguefaerie
Summary: Jurn the Night Dragon watches over his realm and any child he finds who is being abused comes home with him to his lair.





	Dragon Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/gifts).



Jurn, the Night Dragon, soared through the air. He had emerged from his cave on the very edge of the settlement and made his way over the countryside. He listened and _felt_ in his heart for the calling of children. He glided under cover of stars and clouds, his midnight black coloring blending into the sky. His underbelly and scales created slight, almost metallic flashes of purple.

It was against this soft part of his body that he held the children as they first flew home with him.

His heart was vast, and it resonated like a finely-tuned instrument to hear their calls; whether the children cried out loud or on an emotional wavelength that dragons knew well.

He knew the parents who beat their children. The parents who felt in their own hearts they had too many mouths to feed and not enough compassion for every child in their families.

Jurn was aware of all that transpired across the land.

He had seen into the hearts of humans. When he was a newly hatched, the local men had come with pitchforks to end his life. Their quest had ended with a literal trial by fire that they had no chance of winning. Even at his youngest he was capable of defending himself, and for that he was hated by those with darkness in their hearts. And so he had lost all fear of them.

They had come when he was young enough to know the sting of their energy, their wish for his death. And after that, it was not hard to realize with his open heart that a human could turn the same feelings toward their own young.

He vowed to do something in order to make the settlement safer despite their hatred. Because he heard what was in the hearts of the children, he learned to find them easily and brought those in need home to his lair. He did not fear this being known. He would simply do as he felt his purpose and aid the children who needed his help the most.

Though he enjoyed the glint of gold less than other dragons might, with a heart set on saving children and evening the scales, he began collecting treasure as he grew to impress the human children he hoped to save from a darker fate. He would bring them home to a world that glittered.

Soon news of his “kidnappings” was spreading. The children learned to whisper of his existence, and perhaps he would have passed into that of legend or folktale. But Jurn was not going to sit back in the shadows, not when he knew what he did of the darkness in the hearts of abusive adults. He was going to be a dragon of action, and be known among the small and vulnerable for what was in his own heart: peace and safety for any who were hurt.

There was a rumor that was louder than the one passed among the children. The adults began to tell wicked stories of the dragon that ate the babies who went suddenly missing. 

This only served to make it seem like the abuse the adults doled out was permissible when compared to alternatives. Sometimes Jurn wondered if more children would suffer as a result of his actions. But he could not sit idly by with the knowledge he had, and a heart large enough to feel for so many. He had to reach out to protect them.

He used all that he had to his advantage and brought children home to his lair when given any opening. The peacefulness that emanated from his presence dispelled any lies told by abusers. The ones who wished to come with him had seen too much already and were wise, with tear-stained cheeks and a hitch in their breaths. They reached out as if for relief and cuddled right into the softest spot against his body. They had prepared long ago for his arrival. And though this would mean one less child in the village, it also meant one more child free from harm.

Jurn brought them one at a time to his glittering cave, dark but for the fires he kept lit;their light reflecting off of the treasure along the cave surface.

“I like things that shine and have a lot of color,” he would explain. “They are good to hold if you need something heavy to make you feel one with the earth.” Once he knew they had taken that in, he would continue to impart things from his life experience and his heart. “This is our place, yours and mine, this earth, whether someone who is miserable with their own lot thinks so or not. I have sworn to protect you. That is why you have been brought to the safety of my lair. I trust you to keep it in your confidence, and whenever you wish you may be with me in the sky. I am as dark as night and we can travel concealed from dangerous people.”

There were a few who stayed for a time until they could set off on their own. But now and again due to his kindness and their long abiding love for him, a child would stay there at the edge of of the settlement, and live there permanently with the dragon. They were the ones who no matter their size could find the way to curl in against the softest part of the dragon’s body and feel at home, remembering the rush of air as they flew to safety for the first time.

The adults did not dare come near, for they knew their own intentions in saying a dragon had eaten the children they had not cared for. They knew that several of those children had grown into full adulthood, protecting the dwelling of a fire-breathing creature, and they themselves could not justify a raiding party. Their own actions would ultimately be seen if the continued existence of the children of the cave came to light.

The children knew this as well as the adults and Jurn did. Yet some of the children did talk about it among themselves. Would they return to the darkness for love of their parents? Though it was a mad world, time and distance did sometimes teach lessons, even to adults. That was without question. Yet to a one they would choose to stay in safety again and again.

The oldest child in the cavern, the very first, was named Bria, and she stayed with Jurn as a permanent resident, along with a slightly younger friend to the dragon, named Klint, who had been brought to the cave not long after her. Together, they would counsel the children upon their arrival.

“Some of you may choose to stay,” Bria said.

“But the dragon is well looked after, and can look after us as well,” Klint said. “If you are happy, you can stay, and that invitation remains. You can always express yourself freely, and you are not trapped here. You have been brought here because of the song in your heart, and its match to our friend, Jurn’s.

“I wish you only freedom and joy,” said Jurn, “and I will honor any wishes expressed to me.”

And with this, the children would quiet and make up their minds if they felt safe. In all of his time, though he did not ever give the same introduction twice, he had never encountered a child who wanted to go home once they had found the peace of the cave and his chosen family.

Bria, Klint, and Jurn were known, though spoken of in somewhat hushed tones. When new children arrived, they suddenly realized they were in the place and among the people they had heard of, and many cried tears of release and joy.

Among the adults, the dragon was never exactly the topic of stories of triumph. For they knew the truth, and they knew their part in it. And yet over time the stories changed. Dragons were considered so fierce, and yet so rare that meeting one was said to be a legendary event. There was an uneasy peace with the truth of their local dragon’s actions, and Jurn accepted this new facet to the stories as a boon. 

He remained an active force for peace and a guardian of these lands and those living on them. It was known that he was not just a legend, but the legend itself brought protection to him as a force for good in the region.

He continued to protect the children in peace. Dragons are well known for being long-lived, and he was no exception. His presence brought balance and joy to the area of the settlement for generations to come.


End file.
